Over the past three decades, Pakistan s Protected Areas system has expended to include 221 sites that are listed as protected areas on the national register. There are now 22 National Parks, 96 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 3 Wildlife Parks, 2 Nature Parks, 1 Wildlife Refuge, 1 Crane Refuge and 96 Game Reserves. The studies were undertaken during the period 2006 to 2009 to record the distribution and status of the birds of Hingol National Park (HNP), to identify the threats and to make recommendations for their conservation. A total of 158 species of birds were recorded. The bird fauna comprised of...

The Hingol National Park is the most unique and important national park of Pakistan, because it consists of six ecosystems including Arabian Sea, Rugged Mountains, Desert, River, Estuary, and open plains. The park has rich biodiversity of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibian species, including Ibex, Urial, Chinkara, Dalmatian Pelican, Spotted-billed Pelican, Houbara Bustard, Imperial Eagle, Sooty Falcon, Flamingo, fish Mahsheer, Marsh Crocodile, Green Sea Turtle, Skittering frog etc. In the present study, current status of the mammals of Hingol National Park has been determined in...

Amphibians are an important part of aquatic ecosystems, and decline of amphibian population is a major environmental issue. Pesticides can severely affect amphibians in a variety of ways, as destroy the natural biotic balance in agricultural soils and reduce the diversity and abundance of biodiversity with cascading effects at higher trophic levels. In the present study, investigations were carried out to evaluate the effects of organophosphate (Sandaphos and Titophos) and pyrethroid (Permakil) on the histopathology of frog Rana cyanophlyctis. It was observed that under the effects of...

Marine turtles in Pakistan are protected, either directly or indirectly, through a series of legal and regulatory provisions. Five marine turtle species, including green turtles (Chelonia mydas), olive ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea), hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata), loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) and leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) have been recorded from the Karachi coast and Balochistan coast. During the present study, we surveyed all known and potential turtle nesting sites, and identified six new nesting beaches, including Mubarak village (Karachi...

According to IUCN (2009), there are now 1,677 reptiles species have been included on the IUCN Red List, with 293 added in 2009. In total, 469 are threatened with extinction and 22 are already Extinct or Extinct in the wild. The present studies included the bioecology and current status of diurnal lizards of Karachi (East, South and Malir districts). The investigation was carried out on the physical characteristics of the three districts and its flora and lizard fauna. In Pakistan some lizard species are threatened, present studies also recorded that Uromastix hardwickii (Indian Spiny-tailed...

In recent years, evidence has emerged showing that many chemicals (e.g. estradiol, nonylphenol, bisphenol A, PCBs and some pesticides) at different concentrations can cause disruption to endocrine systems and can affect hormonal control of development in aquatic biodiversity. The presence of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in the environment is of great concern due to their harmful effects on animals including humans. There are several screening procedures used to quantify EDCs in the aquatic environment including chemical analysis, in vitro, and in vivo bioassays. Pakistan has a great...